It’s every hunter’s dream to own and manage his own property. Here are some steps to take to make sure you get the end result you hope for.
If you dream hard enough, long enough, you can make anything happen. That is if you are willing to work for it.
Over the years, I’ve heard dozens of stories from deer hunters about dreams they have of owning their own place to hunt. I cannot imagine any truly serious deer hunter who would not fall all over themselves at the chance to have a privately owned place to call their own to hunt and to just enjoy the great outdoors with family and friends.
Sometimes, though, reality sets in, and hunters have to be careful what they ask for because they just may get it. As far as carving out a little place on Planet Earth to own or use as private hunting land, that is indeed a laudable goal. However, such a lofty goal is best approached with eyes, ears, minds and wallets wide open.
Begging, borrowing or buying
“I grew up in Mississippi,” says Jason Pope. “I went to high school in Clinton, attended Mississippi State University and did my MBA at Mississippi College. Now I live in Madison, but work at Hinds Community College in Raymond. This is my home, and I dearly wanted a place of my own to hunt. I have done the public-land thing and will continue to. I’ve also been a partner in hunting leases, too, but would rather not go that route again. I have dreamed of my own place I could build into a great hunting property on my own, at my own pace.”
Paul Ellis took a different route.
“I wasn’t in a position to buy something of my own just yet, but I had access to family land in Hinds County,” he said. “My uncle owns a place northwest of Clinton that was perfect for hunting, but he was never terribly interested in making any improvements that would enhance the hunting.
“I convinced him that if I would do the majority of the work he would approve my plan and let me deer hunt on the property. That’s the plan I have initiated to have a place for me and my wife to deer hunt this year.”
In the case of Pope, he patiently shopped land for sale in an area with a good reputation for producing quality deer and something that was as pristine as possible. He finally located a small parcel within his designated budget in Madison County west of Flora.
“I looked at land for a couple years before finding a small piece with the kind of deer hunting potential I wanted,” said Pope. “Better yet, it was surrounded by additional quality habitat, but had little hunting pressure from the adjacent landowners.
“It was perfect for my hunting plan.”
Certainly there are advantages of buying one’s own land to create a good place to hunt, but also establishing agreements to use family land can be viable as well. Either angle gives a measure of privacy and opportunity to transform the land into a quality hunting situation. Once you buy or borrow hunting land, then the real work starts.
Editor’s note: This article is part of the From virgin land to hunting haven feature in the July issue of Mississippi Sportsman. Digital editions can be downloaded right to your computer or smartphone.
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